Identification of Rodent Homologs of Hepatitis C Virus and Pegiviruses

作者：Amit Kapoor, Peter Simmonds, Troels K. H. Scheel, Brian L. Hjelle, John Michael Cullen, Peter D. Burbelo, Lokendra V. Chauhan, Raja Duraisamy, Maria Sanchez Leon, Komal Jain, Kurt J. Vandegrift, Charles H. Calisher, Charles M. Rice, Walter Ian Lipkin · 发表于：mBio · 年份：2013 · DOI：10.1128/mbio.00216-13 · 被引用次数：257 · 研究领域：Hepatitis C virus research、Respiratory viral infections research、Hepatitis Viruses Studies and Epidemiology

UNLABELLED: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human pegivirus (HPgV or GB virus C) are globally distributed and infect 2 to 5% of the human population. The lack of tractable-animal models for these viruses, in particular for HCV, has hampered the study of infection, transmission, virulence, immunity, and pathogenesis. To address this challenge, we searched for homologous viruses in small mammals, including wild rodents. Here we report the discovery of several new hepaciviruses (HCV-like viruses) and pegiviruses (GB virus-like viruses) that infect wild rodents. Complete genome sequences were acquired for a rodent hepacivirus (RHV) found in Peromyscus maniculatus and a rodent pegivirus (RPgV) found in Neotoma albigula. Unique genomic features and phylogenetic analyses confirmed that these RHV and RPgV variants represent several novel virus species in the Hepacivirus and Pegivirus genera within the family Flaviviridae. The genetic diversity of the rodent hepaciviruses exceeded that observed for hepaciviruses infecting either humans or non-primates, leading to new insights into the origin, evolution, and host range of hepaciviruses. The presence of genes, encoded proteins, and translation elements homologous to those found in human hepaciviruses and pegiviruses suggests the potential for the development of new animal systems with which to model HCV pathogenesis, vaccine design, and treatment. IMPORTANCE: The genetic and biological characterization of animal homologs of human viruses pr...